In February, when the winter frost dots plants and fields, the expert pruners know it is their time. These are the perfect days for pruning the deciduous plants that lose their leaves every year, when the cold season arrives.

The skill of ancient pruners ("potatáure", in Alberobello's dialect) reached its peak when, like a surgeon, he decided the vine's fate with actions that were as respectful as possible for the plant itself. The expert pruner, rather than knowing his job, knew perfectly the species of plants on which he worked. Only this way a special grape grew generous and cared.

The variety of ancient pruner tools had some specific reasons; for example, during the pruning, especially to fruit trees, it was good to make clean cuts using tools sometimes to be disinfected, to avoid transmitting any infection. What's more, the pruner's tools had to be perfectly sharp, so as not to fray the bark.

Some of the tools of the old pruners are exhibited in the trullo devoted to this profession. This historic "Trulli Holiday" home is located in the Aia Piccola monumental area, an area still lived in. The set-up is a tribute to the people who took care of the vegetation, handing down the secrets of nature to their children.

In photo: Vito Marzolla. Pruner since he was a child, being also a carpenter for a short time, he always devotes himself to nature with great love, appreciating and promoting its beauty.